At the present time the country is confronted with an energy crisis that has been emphasized by the limitation on the import of petroleum imposed by the Arab Nations. This crisis has resulted in great activity by inventors, engineers and research workers to the end of providing heating and cooling systems which derive their operative energy from the sun. Considerable activity existed in this field before this crisis.
The known art includes several examples of heating devices which use solar energy. Some of the known systems of this type include means for cooling air in the premises in which the systems are installed. In many, if not all of such systems which include air cooling means, the air is cooled by spraying water directly into the air. Such arrangements have proven to be generally unsatisfactory and not acceptable to the using public for any of several reasons, among which may be noted the problem of excess humdity in the treated air which is not compatible with human comfort. It may be stated with a high degree of assurance that the known art is notably lacking in a solar heating and cooling system in which air is indirectly cooled by the evaporation of water.
The known art is also lacking in a system of the type noted in which provision is made for nocturnal radiation cooling that includes no water spraying or the use of any water.
There are now known many heat exchangers of various types. One such type which is widely known, comprises a corrugated or grooved sheet of metal together with a flat sheet that closes the open sides of the corrugations or grooves. Known heat exchangers of this type are not effective or efficient to the degree required for a solar energy heating and cooling system of the character with which this invention is concerned.
Solar heating and cooling systems now available to the public are expensive and costly to install. The costs attending their installations are so high as to discourage their acceptance. Moreover, even though the energy crisis should worsen an appreciable degree, the cost discrepancy between using conventional sources of energy and solar energy would still be so great as to prohibit the use of known solar energy systems. The present invention is founded on the belief that the system of this invention will be found to be practical, cost saving, and acceptable with present energy cost levels and even more so as energy costs increase.